Tuesday, 26 April 2011

On Saturday 30th April we are pleased to welcome back two of Nottingham's finest DJs and Stealth residents since day one, RIOTOUS ROCKERS!

To get you in the mood for their show at Stealth we have not one, but TWO new Riotous Rockers mixes for you! First up is their April promo mix (featuring the likes of Joakim, In Flagranti, Munk, Lone, Slow Hands, Beni, Omar S, Robert Owens & Metronomy):

"Photek stands mercilessly on the edge. A sonic scientist, pushing both his sounds and fans' expectations to the outermost limits since 1994, he floods the footnotes of electronica like MP3s clutter up your hard drive."

Rupert 'Photek' Parkes is one of the legends of Jungle and Drum & Bass, releasing his major label classic LP 'Modus Operandi' in 1997. Over the course of his career as Photek, Parkes has developed a sound that is simultaneously individual, innovative and accessible, earning him much respect and popularity amongst critics and music fans alike. The strength of the sound finds foundation in Photek’s incredibly detailed drum programming, which is then augmented by his sophisticated sense for combining abstract sounds with jazz and classic techno influences.

Watch this classic interview with Photek in his home studio from back in 1996:

After spending the last few years based in Los Angeles (producing music for films and collaborating with the likes of Nine Inch Nails), we are glad that he is back in the UK, producing some of the most forward thinking music around. His new sounds carry all the barbed motifs and icy atmospherics you'll know from his seminal D&B cuts, all tied up tight with his own take on today's contemporary genre-breaking melting pot. He has also just remixed Daft Punk, as well commissioning mixes of his own material by Boddika, Breach and Addison Groove.

Photek - Ni Ten Ichi Ryu (1997)

Photek (feat. Robert Owens) - Mine To Give (2000)

Photek - 101 (2011)

"Take it or leave it; from this moment on Photek has programmed a new system, the code racing mercilessly towards the main stage where an explosive live show, primed with nothing but his own material, patiently awaits."

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For those of you who are new to Photek there is no better starting place than Benji B's Photek Special on his Radio 1 show from March 2011.

It's taken him a while but he finally got around to recording the 15 minute mix which won him a spot in the World Final in Paris - featuring an eclectic mix of House, Hip-Hop, Drum & Bass, Dubstep alongside some 80s & 90s classics!

On Sunday May 1st as part of the Indoor Festival 2011 we are pleased to welcome back the first lady of Radio, BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac!

Born in Dublin to a family immersed in musicality, Annie Mac left home at 17 to attend Queen's University in Belfast, where she was bitten by the clubbing bug, and inspired to purchase her first set of decks, Annie taught herself to mix using old funk and soul records bought from local charity shops. Following a stint as part of Shine's marketing team and four months living in Manhattan, Annie made the move to London, working simultaneously as a TV and radio plugger, a freelance broadcasting assistant and a presenter for the SBN, before she approached BBC Radio 1.

Annie's show on Radio 1 began in July 2004 when, working as a assistant producer on Zane Lowe's show, she impressed Radio 1 bosses with her demos and her determination.

Since then her show has gone from strength to strength. Annie Mac's Mash Up on Friday nights on Radio 1 has attracted a host of loyal followers from around the world and sees Annie play the cutting-edge dance music which she has become known for.

Annie is a talented club DJ, playing reguarly at Stealth since 2005. We have hosted the Nottingham leg of the annual DJ tour 'Annie Mac Presents...' for the last few years, which features Annie playing alongside some of her favourite acts. The clubnight has launched the off-shoot of the 'Annie Mac presents...' CD Compilations:

Since 2009, Annie Mac's show has moved to the new time slot of 7pm to 9pm, taking over from Pete Tong. One of the highlights of the show are the weekly 'mini-mixes' where Annie's guests make a special mix of all of their favourite songs all 'mashed-up' into a 5 minute mix. A selection of the mixes can be downloaded from here.

Annie is known for playing an eclectic mix of genres in her DJ sets, including House, Dubstep, Drum & Bass, UK Funky and Disco. Have a listen to her 2010 'Y.M.A.C' Disco mix (originally available via her Annie Mac Presents blog):

Saturday, 23 April 2011

This Easter Sunday we have a special one-off event with DMZ/Swamp 81's LOEFAH, JULIO BASHMORE, Wigflex's Spamchop and dollop resident D'lex.

The lovely people at The Guardian clearly have good taste as they have selected it as their Pick Of The Week!

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬LOEFAH (DMZ/Swamp81)The seminal work of producer pioneer, Loefah has been formative in the creation and development of the now worldwide scene of dubstep. Along with his partners, Mala and Coki, he started and continues to run the now infamous DMZ brand. Though still part and parcel of DMZ, in 2009, he started his own label called Swamp81 which better reflected his developing direction in underground music. As "dubstep" grew further and further from its roots and became increasingly commercial, Loefah turned his attention to an emergent new hive of creativity to create the home label, Swamp 81.

With a steady stream of output from the likes of Kryptic minds, Skream, Pinch, Ramadanman, Addison Groove, Instra:Mental, Boddika and Falty-DL, it became increasingly clear that Swamp81 is dedicated to the promotion of subcultural bass music rather than dubstep music per se. The releases display a like minded dedication to weighty electronic music and that is what has made the ripples world wide for this label, winner of the best new label in at the dubstep awards 2010.Reflecting the eclecticism, Swamp81 releases are being supported by a variation of DJs such as A-Trak, Josh Wink, Joy Orbison, Ricardo Villalobos, Giles Peterson, Kode9, Benji B, and many more.Loefah's 50 minute video mix for Boiler Room #42:

Also watch part of his set from the recent DMZ 6th Birthday:

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JULIO BASHMORE (dirtybird)Bristolian Matthew Walker (aka Julio Bashmore) is one of the hottest names in House music, being hyped by everyone from Fact Mag & RA to Vice Magazine. Despite being straight up house tracks, his productions have enough bottom end to also appeal to lovers of Garage and Dubstep; and have gained support from the likes of Claude VonStroke, Gilles Peterson, Jesse Rose, Pearson Sound (Ramadanman), Annie Mac, Jacques Greene, Sound Pellegrino Thermal Team, Martyn, Tiga, Benji B, Pete Tong, Seiji, Zombie Disco Squad, Deadboy, Mary Anne Hobbs, Midland, Zane Lowe, xxxy, Brodinski & pretty much every other self respecting DJ on the scene.

Seeing as there is a Bank Holiday on the Friday (22nd April) we thought we should throw a big party on the Thursday night. And when we say big, we mean BIG.

Headling with have the midlands debut from French D&B Superstars DIRTYPHONICS(check out their blog post here) and BAR9(view their blog post here).

If that's not enough we also bring you a set from Ram Record's hottest signing DELTA HEAVY!

DELTA HEAVY (Ram Records/Viper Recordings)Ben Hall and Si James aka Delta Heavy combine their love of cinematic soundscapes, house, techno and the 80s with the impact and punch of an unexpected blow to the face, Ram Records was an obvious outlet for their sound and they were signed over the summer of 2010. Opening or closing Andy C’s sets for the majority of last year, debut single Space Time was one of the biggest tracks of 2010, leading to three separate nominations for Best Single, Best New Producer & Best New DJ at the Drum&BassArena Awards.

Three years of hard work paid off when their track Abort was released on Viper Recordings in mid 2010. Having been a regular on dance floors all year, it topped download charts and received support on Radio 1 from Zane Lowe and others.

Check out the mix they did for Knowledge Magazine back in October of last year (which features their own alongside the likes of Sub Focus, Redlight, Zinc, Deadmau5 & loads more)!

SPACE DIMENSION CONTROLLER (R&S Records/Clone/Kinnego)Space Dimension Controller is still relatively new to the scene, but in the last year or so has been responsible for some of the most jaw-dropping pieces of music we've ever had the pleasure of hearing.

With a dedicated affinity towards dusty old pieces of rare and often forgotten hardware, this man has created an intoxicating blend of detroit techno, p-funk, acid house and disco which can best be described as Galactic Funk. Unsurprisingly, the whole World has actually sat up and taken notice with everyone from Francois K to Josh Wink rinsing a number of blinding releases on labels such as R&S and Rush Hour and everybody else with the right mind flocking to catch this star-in-the-making before he jumps back in his space pod and leaves Earthly confines for new galactic pastures.

I think you can tell we're BIG fans and delighted to have him for his Nottingham debut.

Wednesday, 20 April 2011

Seeing as there is a Bank Holiday on the Friday (22nd April) we thought we should throw a big party on the Thursday night. And when we say big, we mean BIG.

Headling with have the midlands debut from French D&B Superstars DIRTYPHONICS - check out their blog post here.

If thats not enough we also bring you a set from Dubstep's hottest name - BAR 9!!!

BAR9 (Audio Freaks/Z Audio)Dubstep duo Bar 9, all the way from Leicester, are currently blowing dubsteppers minds everywhere with their high energy, dark grimey basslines and hard punching tunes.

These guys, high in demand due to their loud tear out DJ sets, are one of the most sought after remixers in the dubstep world due to their early success with their own tracks which often start quite melodic and then have a mighty drop such as:

You may of heard Bar9's remix of Example - Kickstarts on The Sound Of Dubstep Vol.2 album, but the video is well worth checking out to!

The remix they did for NME favourites Foals, brought in a big Indie following for the Bar9 duo:

Other remixes (for the likes of Eurythmics & Noisia) have helped cement their reputation as one of the biggest names in Dubstep:

As we have mentioned previously, Bank Holiday Sunday May 1st sees the return of THE INDOOR FESTIVAL to Stealth, The Rescue Rooms and Rock City.

As part of the event we are pleased to welcome back one of our favourite acts from the last few years, JACK BEATS !

JACK BEATSare Beni G (Mixologists) & Plus One (Scratch Perverts), who via their wobbly basslines, big breakdowns and edgy accapellas they have created their own floor-filling brand of house.

Regulars at Stealth since their debut in 2008, the guys first appeared on our radar via their remix of AC Slater's 'Jack Got Jacked':

Their first show at Stealth was at 'Made You Look' back in 2008 and was followed by shows in 2009 at the dollop Birthday (alongside Diplo) and then in November '09 alongside Zane Lowe & Kissy Sell Out.

Yes, it’s hard to believe but this weekend marks the 7th Birthday for Stealth, and we are celebrating with a series of parties!

As a big thank-you to you all we are running competitions to win FREE TICKETS to the Birthday Parties! To be in with a chance of winning email us(alex@dhpgroup.co.uk) with the name of the act you would most love to see in Stealth in the years to come! (We will be picking 5 winners of a pair of tickets to every event over the whole bank holiday weekend).

This Thursday (to celebrate the day off on Friday) we have a EASTER BANK HOLIDAY DRUM & BASS and DUBSTEP SPECIAL with DIRTYPHONICS (making their Nottingham debut with their groundbreaking 4-man live D&B show), dubsteppers BAR 9, Ram Records latest signing DELTA HEAVY and the hottest local talent the Midlands can offer!Advance tickets are available via Alt-Tickets & Fatsoma. More information can be found on the Facebook event.

On Friday we have ZLEEP taking over Stealth, showcasing the best in house, disco & techno. Guests on the night are R&S Records’ SPACE DIMENSION CONTROLLER & Aus Music’s MIDLAND!

Then on Saturday we have our regular STEALTH Vs RESCUED event – featuring 5 rooms of music and 1200+ people across Stealth and The Rescued Rooms.

Limited £5 queue-jump advance tickets are available from Alt-Tickets.For FREE GUESTLIST 1. 'Like' this page, 2. Post your names as a comment on this post & 3. Arrive before 11pm.

Then to bring the weekend to a close on Easter Sunday we have the STEALTH EASTER BASS SPECIAL with DMZ/Swamp 81 head-honcho LOEFAH, Bristolian dirtybird JULIO BASHMORE, Wigflex boss SPAMCHOP and dollop resident D’LEX.

Tuesday, 19 April 2011

Growing out of Bristol’s second wave of Dubstep starlets alongside producers such as Joker, Gemmy and Julio Bashmore, Hyetal makes music that blurs boundaries, builds dancefloors and ‘drips with colour’. Infact much has been made of the visual nature of Hyetals music, like a kaleidoscope for the ears drums or a synesthesiac’s wet dream.

“Hyetal has a kinda strange and tender magic that is just truly enchanting”

Mary Anne Hobbs (BBC Radio 1)

Since relocating from his native Southampton he has been fully embraced by his new home of Bristol, releasing on the local labels Punch Drunk and Soul Motive.

His collaborations with Julio Bashmore (as Velour for Night Slugs), Shortstuff, Peverelist & Baobinga and mixes for Mary Anne Hobbs (BBC Radio 1), Fabric Live, FACT & LuckyMe have help to showcase the sound of this next generation of ‘post’ Dubstep artists and firmly sits Hyetal right in the middle of them.

On May 2, the talented producer will add a full-length LP to his repertoire. The 10-track Broadcast will drop via Bristol-based imprint 'Black Acre', preceded by the recently released single, 'Diamond Islands'. On the inspiration behind that fresh track, Hyetal says, "I wanted to make something stripped back, so most of it’s just [vocalist Alison Garner], sub-bass, a drum machine, and this weird atmosphere."

Monday, 18 April 2011

MIDLAND(Aus Music/Phonica)In a little under a year this young Leeds-based producer has rapidly risen from aspiring bedroom producer to become a leading light in UK electronic music, and along with fellow visionaries Ramadanman (his housemate), Joy Orbison and a few others has literally gotten up and shaken the UK techno and bass scenes by the scruff of the neck.

The outcome has been a cross-pollination of sounds and ideas that has resulted in the current UK house/techno scene being perhaps as exciting as its been certainly in our memories and the undeniable envy of the rest of the World. Yes it's something we should be proud of!

Whether through his now legendary FACT mix or through his excellent joint release with Ramadanman on Aus and more recently his 'Bring Joy' EP on More Music, it's clear there is some serious talent revealing itself which leaves you pondering the limits to this guy's potential, because it's patently clear that he's going to be a huge influence for producers and DJ's alike over the coming years.